Fastening device for installing lead liners to walls and the like



w@ M @u F. L. FERRE FASTENING DEVICE FOR INSTALLING LEAD July 14, 1959 LINERS TO WALLS AND THE LIKE Filed June 18, 1956 m/Vf/V TOR /RED L FERRE 5% A ORNE 5 United States Patent O FASTENING DEVICE FOR INSTALLING LEAD LlNERS T WALLS AND THE LIKE Fred L. Ferre, Concord, Calif.

Application June 18, 1956, Serial No. 592,020

1 Claim. (Cl. 109-82) This invention generally relates to fasteners, and is more particularly directed towards a device referred to in the trade as a straw which is utilized in connection with the constructon of a lead lined room or the like.

In buildings where X-ray, medium treatment, etc. is used, it is considered essential to shield the room so as to avoid passage of the harmful rays through conventional building materials. Accordingly, for this type of installation, it is conventional practice to encase all or a. portion of the wall structures with a suitable'continuous lead liner, lead having the capacity of reslstmg passage of X-rays, gamma rays and the like. Considering for a moment only a vertical wall, as distinguished from a door or ceiling which of course may be likewise lined, it is common practice to first erect suitable studding, position a lead lined button board against the studs with the lead in contact therewith, attach the liner and board to the studs, and finally apply plaster or other suitable interior finish on the exposed button board surface.

It will be appreciated that in attaching the liner to the studs, two major problems are encountered. First, the weight of the liner necessitates strong studding, and consequently metal channels or like structural steel elements are frequently employed. Second, in making the attachment between such a stud and the lead liner, holes are usually provided in the liner, and unless these holes are adequately plugged with radiation resistant material such as lead, the aforementioned radiation danger will be present to persons even standing on the other side of the wall.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a fastening device for facilitating the installation of lead lined wall members in such a manner that the entire wall surface will be provided with protective liners of lead, notwithstanding the use of holes originally placed in the liners for the purpose of mounting the same.

Another object of the invention is to provide a fastening device in the form of a straw in which a portion thereof is constructed of conventional galvanized iron rod or the like, and another portion thereof which is in contact with a lead liner is provided with a lead sheath or casing adapted to cooperate with and seal the fastening holes provided in such liner.

A further object of the invention is to provide a device of the type referred to which may be rapidly installed with a minimum of labor and which may be equally well employed whether working on wall or ceiling structures.

The invention possesses other objects and features of advantage, some of which, with the foregoing, will be set forth in the following description of the preferred form of the invention which is illustrated in the drawing accompanying and forming part of the specification. It is to be understood, however, that variations in the showing made by the said drawing and description may be adopted within the scope of the invention as set forth in the claim.

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Referring to said drawing:

Figure l is a front elevational view of a portion of a building, including a wall and ceiling equipped with a lead liner and utilizing the straw of the present invention.

Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view taken substantially in the plane indicated by line 2-2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the straw utilized in the construction illustrated in the other two figures.

As hereinabove described, the fastening device or straw of the present invention is adapted to secure a lead liner to building studs whereby a protective radiation resistance coating or shield will be provided for all or a portion of the wall structure. Referring first to Figures l and 2 of the drawing, a shielded room may generally include a vertically extending wall 6 and a ceiling 7. The wall 6 is preferably formed by utilizing a plurality of vertically extending studs 8 here shown as being formed of structural steel members, such as a channel, having a web 9 and flanges 12 and 13 respectively. The ceiling 7 which is naturally disposed in a generally horizontal position may be attached to horizontally extending joists in the form of similar channels 14. After the channels or other supporting members are properly installed, a wall member, such as button board 16, is positioned against the flange 12 of the channel with a lead liner 17, which has been previously attached to the button board in any suitable manner interposed between such flange and the button board. As is well known, button board is provided with a plurality of apertures 18 by means of which the subsequently applied plaster coating may be secured thereto and after the button board and liner have been so positioned against the channel, a hole 21 is drilled or punched through the button board and liner with the axis of the hole parallel to and slightly below the exposed surface of the web 9 of the channel as viewed in Figure 2. This hole or aperture 21 is adapted to receive the fastening device of the present invention, by means of which the liner 17 and button board 16 are rigidly secured to the channel.

Referring for a moment to the straw itself, the same will be seen to include a relatively long rod 26 formed of galvanized iron or like material which may be deformed without too much difficulty and yet which possesses suicient structural strength to permit its use as a fastener. `One end of the rod 26 is provided with a head 27, and as an important feature of the present invention the head 27 and an adjacent portion of the rod is encased in a sheath 28 of lead, the latter being cast or otherwise formed substantially integrally with such rod portion. The sheath 28 has a head 29 of substantially the same configuration as the rod head 27 and a body portion indicated by the numeral 31 of generally conical configuration tapering from a maximum diameter at the head to a minimum diameter substantially merging with the periphery of rod 26 at a point medially of the length of the straw. This taper serves an extremely important function in installing the straw as will be presently explained. With reference to Figure 2 of the drawing it will be appreciated that with the lead lined button board positioned against the channel 8, the straw may be inserted through the aperture 21 so that the length of the straw extends along the outer surface of the channel web 9 with the distal end 36 of the straw extending for a substantial distance beyond the flange 13 of the channel. The head 29 will be positioned on what will be the inside surface of the room, and more particularly, a shoulder 40, defined at the juncture of head 29 and tapered portion 31 will be positioned against the exposed surface 37 of the button board adjacent aperture 21 so that a definite stop is provided which 3 y e., limits the movement of the straw in a direction towards the channel. Then, as will be clear from observing Figure 2, the tapered portion 31 of the lead sheaths will engage the lead liner portions at the aperture 21 with a wedging action and result in a slight deformation of the peripheral portions 38 of the liner adjacent` the aperture 21. This wedging action insures an adequate lead seal at the aperture through the liner and eiectively prevents radiation from passing through an uncoated or unlined opening in the lead. With the straw positioned in the aforementioned manner the end 36 thereof may -be wrapped around the flange 13 with any suitable tool, the first bend 41 provided in the straw being at the juncture of the flange 13 and web 9, and by applying axial force to the straw as such bend is made, the shoulder 40 of head 29 will be forced against the surface 37 of the button board, the tapered portion 31 will become rmly wedged in the opening 21 of the liner, and the bend 41 being a right angular one will effectively prevent axail displacement of the straw in either direction. Then, a U-shaped bend 42 is made in the straw so that a lock seam is provided between the iiange 13 and the distal end of the straw, securely locking the straw to the channel.

After a suicient number of straws have been installed at suitable positions along the length of the channel, a coating 46 of plaster may be applied to the surface 37 of the button board. As above explained the plaster will enter the apertures 18 in the button board for locking or keying the plaster coating to the board, and it will likewise be appreciated that the head 29 and 27 of the straw will be encased in the plaster.

lF'rom the foregoing description, it will be appreciated that while the fastening device of the present inven tion is extremely simple in construction, it permits a rapid installation of a lead lined board to form a wall structure with a minimum of diiiiculty, and likewise provides complete shielding of the exposed surface of the room from any elects of harmful radiation.

What is claimed:

A lead lined wall construction comprising a metal support channel, a lead sheet positioned against a flange of said channel, a wall member positioned against the other side of said sheet, said sheet and said member having an aperture therethrough in close parallel relationship to the web of said channel, a fastening device having a shank portion positioned against the outer face of said web, said shank extending through said aperture and provided with a head, one end of said shank being deformable around the ange of said channel remote from said lead sheet, the other end of said shank having a lead sheath including a tapered portion wedged against the peripheral portions of said sheet at said opening, and a head on said shank positioned against the face of said wall member remote from said channel.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITEDTSTATES PATENTS 1,712,000 Gialdini May 7, 1929 1,780,108 y Ban-y oct. 28, 1930 1,815,922 Lapof July 28, 1931 2,140,749 Kaplan Dec. 20, 1938 2,353,315 Maze July 11, 1944 

